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Mark
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My life's focus is on the visualization of ideas to help us make better decisions. I work with people and organizations to help them 'See What You Think,' a methodology that I've used my entire career. It was the basis of my own TEDxFargo talk in 2018. I have been involved with TED since 1993. As an attendee, Speaker, TEDx Organizer, and Host of two podcasts Hacking The Red Circle, the global show for TEDx Organizers, and Making Waves: Conversations with Influencers and Disruptors, a weekly program delving into the impact of COVID on our culture. Since 2010, we've produced 100 TEDxSantaBarbara talks with over 21.5 million views. Through these experiences, I have learned how to position an idea to maximize its potential and prepare it for spreading to the world. I started my career working in kitchens in Santa Barbara, ending up as a farm-to-table Chef for the Jesuits by age 30. For the next 20 years, after leaving the kitchen, I led teams that helped organizations visualize scripts for visual effects, design state-of-the-art products, and use animation to illustrate complex processes as the founder of the Academy Award-winning computer animation company, Alias|Wavefront. You may have heard of Maya, which we created here in Santa Barbara. After a successful exit from Alias|Wavefront, my life became consumed by TED and the development of one of the first Rich Internet Applications (RIA). Working with my wife, Kymberlee Weil, we created the first social network that connected people to ideas rather than places and things. That project was called introNetworks and was eventually deployed across thousands of organizations to connect and match tasks to talent and ideas to opportunities. Our focus was on fostering relationships rather than triggering transactions. It turns out, my entire life has been about stories. Starting with the stories behind ingredients in the foods I prepare to now, working closely with organizations to help them design, develop, and deliver their story as vividly as possible so their ideas will gain traction. I currently am the Executive Producer at https://StorytellingSchool.com

Mark
Sylvester
Storytelling School
Executive Producer
Public & Societal Benefit

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